Flu vaccines, in Lombardy the tender for the urgent purchase of 1.5 million doses is empty. Thus, the Region pays for delays caused by incorrect calls.

A price almost double compared to the first calls and the promise of an advance of 15 million euros. The tender launched in early September by Lombardy region for the urgent purchase of 1.5 million doses of flu vaccine it was not granted and, therefore, the last chance to remedy an increasingly disastrous situation has failed. Because in the region most affected by the first wave of COVID-19, public facilities will not have enough vaccines to offer free to all at risk people for whom the flu vaccine is highly recommended this year. I’m on it only 2.3 million incoming doses, before an audience that the Region considers by 2.7 million, but the base Gimbe gives rise to 3.4 million. Lack of vaccines plus delays: the vaccination campaign, which according to ministerial indications should have started in early October, will not start before November, as evidenced by the ilfattoquotidiano.it phone calls to various vaccination centers. The fault lies not only in a market where suppliers have already exhausted their production capacity in a short time, but also in an initial chain of three wrong calls Attributable to regional leaders and the Fontana-Gallera couple.

The last contest not awarded was launched on September 7. TO Aria, the regional purchasing center, only one offer has come from a Chinese company, the Life in the. But as reported the Corriere della Sera, the doses of the vaccine were offered at a price higher than the auction base and especially the delivery would not have met the November 21 deadline. For this the offer was deemed inappropriate. Prior to this announcement, the Region had published seven more Trying to get flu vaccines, essential this year to avoid as much as possible that the similarity between flu symptoms and Covid cause an overload of hospitals and analysis laboratories.

The chain of errors The investigation begins on February 26, just days after the discovery of the first coronavirus infections in the Lodi area. Aria, then directed by Filippo Bongiovanni then got involved in case of the Fontana family coats, publishes a first competition for the purchase of 1.35 million doses for adults and 20 thousand for children, both at a price of 4.50 euros each. But as reported at the end of July by ilfattoquotidiano.it and reported by regional councilors of the Democratic Party Carmela rozza me Fabio Pizzul, the announcement contains two obvious errors: the number of doses is slightly higher than the vaccines made by the Region a year ago (1.29 million), when there was no pandemic, and the base of the auction is 4.50 euros per doses, less than the 5.50 paid in 2019. A single offer arrives, but at a price of 5.90 euros per dose that exceeds the auction base. Therefore, the tender is not awarded.

Aria tries again between March and April, raising the price to € 5.90 per dose, but without modifying the quantities requested. In May the General Directorate of Welfare, at that time still led by the former manager of the Lecco Mobile Squad Luigi Cajazzo, you finally realize that the doses are not enough. But instead of completing the current paperwork and submitting a new one at the same time, the tender is revoked and we start over. The third announcement arrives at the end of May. The adult doses required this time are 2 millions (lot 1): now it is difficult to find them, given the high demand, and the call does not foresee the possibility of supplying a smaller quantity of doses. So for adults no offer comes and comes only lot 2 awarded, that’s 20 thousand doses for children.

The Region guesses the calls, but it’s too late – With the fourth call in mid-June the Region seeks 2.5 million doses for adults, plus another 200,000 specifically for health workers and 70,000 for the elderly housed in the RSA. But it only manages to raise 200,000 for adults and 200,000 for health workers. The fifth tender arrives, just like the previous one: this time the Region manages to obtain 1.3 million doses for adults and 70 thousand for the elderly from the RSA, but now the delivery deadlines have slipped to October, with the possibility of delaying supply until November 15.

With the sixth race at the end of July, the Region is guaranteed 410 thousand doses of spray for children. The seventh race on August 7 is looking for 700 thousand doses for adults, but empty. As well as the eighth, the one for which the advance promise was not enough. A revived formula in the blitzkrieg published Sept. 30, with offers due to arrive today. While waiting to know the result, the total doses for which the Region has a guaranteed supply are currently 2.2 million, which rises to 2.3, considering that some of the lots can be increased by 20%. An insufficient number for the more than 3 million Lombards who would need it. And with times still very uncertain.

@gigi_gno